Assaults and public disputes revive the debate on conduct in beauty salons

A string of assaults and public disputes between clients and salons raises a question the beauty industry has been avoiding: what to do when consumer frustration goes beyond any service protocol. Complaining has turned into spectacle, and the line between the right to complain and public exposure has blurred.

Two recent episodes made this dilemma concrete: the assault on a hairdresser in São Paulo by a dissatisfied client, and the public feud between influencer Malévola and a salon in Alphaville. Both cases raise the same underlying question: where does the right to complain end, and what happens when dissatisfaction spills over into violence or public exposure.

The issue is far from isolated. A survey by Sebrae shows that 236,000 small beauty businesses opened in Brazil in 2025, up 18.5% from the previous year: the equivalent of 27 new companies per hour. A sector growing at that pace widens competition, speeds up professionalization and, at the same time, exposes how much maturing is still needed in transparency and conflict management.

For Saulo Abrahão, founder of salon DUO+ and a mentor to salon owners, the recent episodes add up to communication failures, misaligned expectations and low tolerance for frustration, on both sides of the counter. "Beauty is an emotional service. The client doesn't just buy a procedure, but expectation, self-esteem and transformation," he says.